Dane Dunning turned in another terrific start in place of the injured Jacob deGrom, Adolis Garcia ripped a two-run homer and the Texas Rangers held on for a 7-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
Dunning (4-0), who moved into the Rangers’ rotation after deGrom landed on the injured list in late April, allowed one run on six hits while hitting one batter and striking out four over six innings. Over his three starts in place of deGrom, Dunning has given up three runs in 17 innings.
Atlanta scored its lone run off Dunning on an RBI single by Orlando Arcia in the second inning for an early 1-0 lead, but Texas took control of the game from there.
The Rangers jumped in front 3-1 in the fourth inning. Nathaniel Lowe laced an RBI double, and Garcia followed with his two-run shot off Braves starter Jared Shuster.
Shuster (0-2), who opened the season in the Braves’ rotation before being sent to Triple-A, pitched better in his return compared to his first two big-league starts. But he still took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings.
Texas later built itself a cushion, going up 6-1 with one run in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Jonah Heim plated the run in the sixth with a single, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Atlanta made things interesting with three runs in the eighth, pulling to within 6-4. The Braves closed the gap courtesy of a 455-foot solo home run by Ronald Acuna Jr. and a two-run shot by Sean Murphy. Both blasts came off Texas reliever Jonathan Hernandez.
The Rangers had their own long ball in the bottom of the eighth, though, with a 443-foot solo homer by Ezequiel Duran. That provided a little more breathing room for Will Smith, who earned his eighth save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The three-game series is now tied 1-1 going into Wednesday’s finale. Texas has won five of its last seven games, while Atlanta has lost five of its last six.
–Field Level Media
